News Roundup for May 25, 2022

May 25, 2022
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J Street works to promote an open, honest and rigorous conversation about Israel. The opinions reflected in articles posted in the News Roundup do not necessarily reflect J Street’s positions, and their posting does not constitute an endorsement from J Street.

Top News and Analysis

‘They Were Shooting Directly at the Journalists’: New Evidence Suggests Shireen Abu Akleh Was Killed in Targeted Attack by Israeli Forces, CNN
An investigation by CNN offers new evidence — including two videos of the scene of the shooting — that there was no active combat, nor any Palestinian militants, near Abu Akleh in the moments leading up to her death. Videos obtained by CNN, corroborated by testimony from eight eyewitnesses, an audio forensic analyst and an explosive weapons expert, suggest that Abu Akleh was shot dead in a targeted attack by Israeli forces.

Palestinian Teen Shot Dead in Israeli Raid on West Bank, AP
Health authorities said a 16-year-old Palestinian died early Wednesday after being wounded during clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, the latest in a wave of violence that has persisted for months. The Palestinian health ministry said Ghaith Yamin was wounded by a gunshot to the head and died at a hospital. Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, reported that the clashes erupted when Jewish worshipers, escorted by the military, arrived at a shrine on the outskirts of Nablus city to pray.

News

In West Bank, Turkish FM pledges support for Palestinians, The Washington Post
Turkey’s foreign minister said Tuesday that improved ties with Israel will not come at the expense of its commitment to supporting the Palestinians and the two-state solution to the conflict. Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke in the Palestinian administrative headquarters in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank during a joint press conference with his Palestinian counterpart, Riad Malki.

Blue and White MK Vows to Boycott Votes Due To Planned Reforms, in Blow to Coalition, The Times of Israel
A lawmaker from Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party said Wednesday he would no longer vote for coalition bills in protest of proposed reforms in public transportation and agriculture, dealing the struggling government a fresh blow shortly after another lawmaker’s rebellion.

Biden Made Final Decision To Keep Iran’s IRGC on Terrorist List, Politico
President Joe Biden has finalized his decision to keep Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a terrorist blacklist, according to a senior Western official, further complicating international efforts to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Son, Grandchildren of MK Hurt in West Bank Rock-throwing Attack, The Times of Israel
The son and two grandchildren of a right-wing lawmaker were wounded Tuesday night after rocks allegedly thrown by a Palestinian attacker hit their car on a highway in the northern West Bank. The son of MK Orit Strock, of the far-right Religious Zionism party, lost control of his vehicle after it was struck by rocks near the town of Huwara, causing the car to crash.

Opinion and Analysis

The New Battle in the Israeli Right’s Relentless War on Palestinians, Haaretz
Dahlia Scheindlin argues, “This open commitment to annexation for years should remove any lingering illusion that Israel’s right-wing political leadership supports a two state solution: Carving Area C out of the West Bank would leave a Palestinian state looking not even like Swiss cheese, but a cut-out paper snowflake with precious little snow.”

On Iran, Biden Should Reverse Trump’s Imaginary Statecraft, The Washington Post
Daniel Benjamin and Jason M. Blazakis write, “[T]the final decision — one with serious implications for the future of the Middle East — must embrace a longer view. Trump, after all, said U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA was the first step toward ending Iran’s nuclear program. In fact, it achieved the opposite. Iran has raced ahead and greatly reduced the time it will need to put together a bomb. If Iran doesn’t budge in the talks, we should not allow ourselves to be held hostage by the illusion Trump created that this terrorism designation matters. It does not. But an Iran that continues its march toward a nuclear capability matters in the biggest possible way.”

Dear Jerusalem: Two-way Street for Yom Yerushalayim, J Street
Cantor Evan Kent reflects, “In truth, my dear Jerusalem, you have never been truly unified. The residents of East Jerusalem live under conditions of occupation, humiliation, and exclusion. The marchers will sing and dance in front of the Western Wall, your wall, dear Jerusalem, that stands as a symbol not of liberation, but of demonization of any stream of Judaism that is not orthodox. So, my dear Jerusalem, this year I will spend Yom Yerushalayim in Tel Aviv. I’ll be teaching in the morning, and in the afternoon, I’ll be meeting real estate agents and looking at apartments. You see, I think it’s time we broke up. Or at least took a “time out.””